Record ID: MAS-D100032
Object type: WATER CRAFT EQUIPMENT
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Workflow stage: Published
A wooden belaying pin, approximately 0.4 m in length. Belaying pins are either solid metal or wooden objects used on sailing ships to secure the running rigging. They are still seen today on traditional square rigged ships and replica vessels. More modern sailing vessels have tended to replace them with fixed cleats. Their design has little changed, comprising a rounded handle and cylindrical shaft of varying length and thickness, dependant on the workload placed on it. The shaft would fit into holes in pinrails, which lined the inside of the bulwarks around the base of the ship's mas…
Created on: Tuesday 14th March 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 26th September 2017
No spatial data available.

Record ID: MAS-O100030
Object type: CANNON BALL
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Workflow stage: Published
Spherical ball composed of sandstone or igneous rock such as granite. The shot measures 50 mm in circumference and would date to the post medieval period. Stone shot was carved by hand using chisels and picks, often being finished once on board a vessel. The use of stone was phased out around the 1630s when iron became a more favourable choice for shot.
Created on: Tuesday 7th March 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 15th August 2017
No spatial data available.

Record ID: MAS-D100035
Object type: JAR
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Workflow stage: Published
Part of a large clay storage jar. Due to the size of the fragment and the degree of marine growth on this item it has been tentatively identified as an olive jar, probably Spanish in origin, and dating anywhere between the medieval to post-medieval period (13th/14th to 18th century), most likely from the latter end of this date range (16th - 18th century).
Created on: Friday 7th April 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 26th September 2017
No spatial data available.

Record ID: MAS-100017
Object type: MAMMAL REMAINS
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: Essex
Workflow stage: Published
This cattle mandible, or lower jaw, is comprised of two incomplete sections; cattle mandibles are rarely encountered in the archaeological record as conjoined pairs (Zhang et al. 2013). The smaller piece is an incomplete section featuring both pre-molars and molars. The larger piece is fairly complete, with the exception of teeth, extending all the way to the part in which the incisors and canines would be located. This front section is separated from the molar and pre-molar root holes by the diastema. Providing a relative date for this cattle mandible is challenging without further e…
Created on: Tuesday 18th October 2016
Last updated: Monday 16th January 2017
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-100016
Object type: UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Essex
Workflow stage: Published
This assemblage of metal objects includes an iron handle possibly inscribed with letters; a lead sailmakers palm guard; a bronze scribe; a small gun powder measure; a cup; and what are possibly a musket ball and a rivet; along with several other metal objects of unknown function. All the items appear to be post medieval in date. It is thought that these finds are either being washed into the area from another location or are being exposed by erosion, as each visit to the location reveals more objects.
Created on: Monday 17th October 2016
Last updated: Tuesday 15th August 2017
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-100012
Object type: LANDING CRAFT INFANTRY
Broad period: MODERN
County: Suffolk
Workflow stage: Published
This hulk is situated on the River Deben, just outside of Melton (Suffolk) and is estimated to measure 11.5 m in length and 3 m in width. The structure is rectangular in shape with squared edges and straight sides. One end suggests the presence of a bulkhead and a hatch or doorway, while the other end is missing. Parts of possible rudder components are located close to the bulkhead, suggesting that this is the stern. Internal frames can be seen throughout the remaining structure; estimated measurements reveal a spacing of approximately 0.42 m. The hull is constructed of wood in a doubl…
Created on: Friday 30th September 2016
Last updated: Monday 10th October 2016
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-100007
Object type: SPOON
Broad period: MODERN
County: Devon
Workflow stage: Published
This spoon is made of a metal alloy, possibly copper alloy, and was probably originally plated. Its manufacture would have been cast. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) crest is stamped into the end of the spoon. The crest features the RAAF monogram with a laurel wreath surmounted by a crown. This crest is the same style as that used for cap badges and is modelled from a Royal Air Force (RAF) crest. The more widely adopted RAAF crest was commissioned and designed in 1937 and accepted in 1939. It is composed of the imperial crown mounted on a circle featuring the words 'Royal Austra…
Created on: Thursday 8th September 2016
Last updated: Wednesday 14th December 2016
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-100011
Object type: CLAY PIPE (SMOKING)
Broad period: NINETEENTH CENTURY
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Published
This is a very worn example of a 'cutty' (short) pipe (total length 115 mm) with a round-based spurless bowl imitating a briar pipe, and decorated with multiple 'thorns' - small pointed protrusions around the stem and bowl. This type of bowl was in use between c. 1850 and 1910 (Atkinson and Oswald 1969: type 30), and the thorn design was one of the many decorative types popular during this period (e.g. Ayto 1994:11; Hammond 2009: figure 7). Clay tobacco pipes were manufactured (using two-piece moulds) in huge quantities in many towns and cities around the UK and were also imported fro…
Created on: Wednesday 28th September 2016
Last updated: Wednesday 12th October 2016
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-100010
Object type: FOOD AND DRINK SERVING CONTAINER
Broad period: ROMAN
County: Essex
Workflow stage: Published
This is a group of nine sherds of ceramic, of which six are samian ware (also called terra sigillata). Samian pottery is a mould-made, glossy red, mass-produced, fine tableware. It was first manufactured in northern Italy at the end of the 1st century BC, however by AD 43 production had moved to Gaul (France). The production of samian ware ended around AD 260. The following interpretation is based on the photographs associated with this record. An examination of the fabric and surviving decorative elements may provide further information on the region of manufacture or production cent…
Created on: Wednesday 28th September 2016
Last updated: Thursday 13th April 2017
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-100009
Object type: SHOT
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Essex
Workflow stage: Published
This is an assemblage of six round cast iron and stone projectiles of varying sizes. Due to the ubiquitous nature of their design, it is difficult to accurately date cannonballs with any certainty. This issue is compounded by the wide variation in designs and calibres of the cannons that fired them and the lifespan of the weapon, with obsolete designs often still in use on merchant ships long after they had fallen out of service with the various navies of Northern Europe, who also used captured weapons on their vessels. Cast iron cannonballs are thought to have appeared at some point d…
Created on: Wednesday 28th September 2016
Last updated: Thursday 13th April 2017
Spatial data recorded.